Perspective

004

With this issue, we are significantly enriching the mix that is Bible Review—or I should say BR, as we introduce our new cover logo to coincide with the exciting new additions to your favorite magazine.

Aside from the new logo, the most evident change is the addition of columnists—four of them. Only two appear in this issue; the other two will appear in the next issue and they will alternate that way issue after issue. The four new columnists—two covering the Hebrew Bible and two the New Testament—are scholars of extraordinary stature who also know how to communicate with laypeople:

• Bernhard Anderson, adjunct professor of Hebrew Bible, The Theological School of Boston University

• Helmut Koester, chair, department of New Testament; and John H. Morison Professor of New Testament Studies and Winn Professor of Ecclesiastical History, Harvard Divinity School

• Jacob Milgrom, professor of Hebrew and Bible, University of California at Berkeley

• Marcus Borg, professor and chair, department of religious studies, Oregon State University

In time you will get to know these people and the way they think. You will appreciate how they relate to the Bible. You should also know what my agreement with them is: The space is theirs. They can talk and write about anything they choose. It is going to be an exciting experiment. I think you will look forward to their columns as much as I do.

At the same time as we celebrate the fact that our new columnists are leading biblical scholars, we openly regret that the list does not include any women or Catholic scholars. It is not for lack of trying. We did, however, limit our search to people or equal stature to those scholars listed above who did agree to share their thoughts and ideas with you. Another requirement was the ability to communicate with laypeople. One of the most prominent women biblical scholars (who has previously written for BR) will try to write a column for us occasionally, so in this way this way we hope partially to redress the imbalance. Among Catholic scholars, we got three no’s from three old friends because they were too involved in long-term book projects. But we will of course continue to publish path-breaking articles by both women and Catholic scholars, as we have in the past. And we hope to publish guest columns from time to time that will reflect a greater diversity.

Another addition to the magazine is the substantial expansion of our book review section. At present, there is no non-denominational magazine where the layperson can read about the host of new books coming out that relate to the Bible and the biblical world. We admit to having tried to do this—not always very well—in the past. One reason was lack of space. Almost invariably our magazine designers would tell us that we gave them too much material to fit into the number of pages we allotted. So we have to cut. And we look for places to cut. Invariably the victim has been the book review department. Besides, our staff editors were too busy to give this section its needed attention. To remedy this, we will devote at least five and perhaps more pages per issue to book reviews. This will be an addition to the magazine, not a substitution. To guide this section of the magazine and assign and edit the book reviews, two prominent scholars have agreed to serve as our book review editors (their contributions will begin to appear in our next issue):

• James VanderKam, professor of Old Testament, Notre Dame University

• Elizabeth Johnson, associate professor of New Testament, New Brunswick Theological Seminary

Finally, to help us extend our reach in the scholarly world, we have enlisted two distinguished contributing editors who will be tracking down some of the most fascinating new ideas in biblical scholarship and turning them into articles by the innovators themselves. Our new contributing editors are:

• Ronald S. Hendel (Hebrew Bible), associate professor in the department of religious studies, Southern Methodist University

• Stephen J. Patterson (New Testament), assistant professor of New Testament, Eden Theological Seminary

Let me be frank about the practical facts that have allowed us to make these improvements. As you know, these are difficult times economically for many of us. Magazines have been especially hard hit. Many magazines have even discontinued publication. Among the survivors, advertising is in a slump—the worst in memory. Yet we at BR are adding new features and more pages. The answer is you. In increasing numbers you have been subscribing. Many of you have sent tax-deductible gifts (we are a non-denominational charitable organization approved as such by the Internal Revenue Service) to sustain us. In recognition of our continually expanding readership, hard nosed-advertisers want more and more to communicate with you through BR about their books and wares. So, in the end, it is you who have made all this possible. From 005all of us, our immense gratitude.

As a more tangible expression of our gratitude, we would like to encourage you to give gift subscriptions to your friends and relatives. If they are like you, they will be flattered and pleased with a gift subscription to BR from you.

These are exciting times at BR. Future issues will include a multipart, path-breaking interview with one of the giants in American biblical scholarship—Frank Moore Cross, the Hancock Professor of Hebrew and other oriental languages at Harvard University, who will be retiring this year at age 70. This interview will make accessible to the general public the core of Professor Cross’s thinking, together with new insights never before published.

We will also continue to explore the implications of the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the recently released texts. In one forthcoming article P. Kyle McCarter, the William F. Albright Professor of Biblical and Near Eastern Studies at Johns Hopkins University, will discuss his new study of the Copper Scroll. This intriguing document may be a coded map to where the Temple treasure was buried. Read about it in BR!

It is good to have each of you with us. We hope you learn from and enjoy BR as much as we do in producing it.

With this issue, we are significantly enriching the mix that is Bible Review—or I should say BR, as we introduce our new cover logo to coincide with the exciting new additions to your favorite magazine.